Many of you are no doubt looking ahead to the holiday season at this particular moment. Thinking about Christmas gifts and planning dinner menus. Digging out the holiday decorations and trying to coordinate your schedules and plans with your extended family and friends. Given the recent news and the kind of year we have had, you are also most likely thinking off all the things you have to be grateful for, all the blessings in your life. If you live in South Carolina and are drinking water from your own tap, then you are doubly thankful.

It hardly seems possible that only a little over a month ago people in South Carolina were hit by "the October Storm" -- a deluge of rainfall that broke hundred-year records and left thousands of people flooded out of their homes and stranded without access to clean, drinkable water. In Columbia, where the offices of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance are located, SIBA folks endured for five days without water that was safe to drink or to wash in. Hundreds of people lost homes and businesses to flooding.

South Carolina author Nicole Seitz was lucky. She remained high and dry in her home in Mount Pleasant. Her brother-in-law, forty minutes away and on lower ground, was not lucky. The creek overflowed and entered his home, filling it with two feet of water. Nearly everything was lost, and the family of four was displaced. They moved in with parents while the damage could be assessed and the home rebuilt.

The widespread flood damage became personal to Seitz, and she wanted a way to help not just her family, but people who had suffered loss from the deluge. So she contacted friends who, being writers and more to the point, being southerners, jumped at the chance to help.

One month later, When You Pass Through Waters was created. The anthology is inspiring and thought-provoking as the 18 beloved and bestselling authors share their water-related memories, fears, and wisdom. Her ladyship's readers will see many familiar and much-loved names among the contributors: Karen White, Marjory Wentworth, Cassandra King, Brett Lott, Julie Cantrell, Fred Bassett, Batt Humphreys, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, as many more. The cover artwork was done by Nicole Seitz, who is also an artist, illustrator, and art teacher.

A meditation on water, an anthology of heartfelt poetry and prose such as only a group of southerners could create, and a gesture of love and respect for people in need. Proceeds of sales of the book go towards helping victims of the flooding in South Carolina.

Noteworthy poetry and prose from her ladyship's bedside reading stack.

Terra Firma

I lived a landlocked childhood, my glimpses of the ocean rare occasions that I dreaded as much as I anticipated. Maybe that's what fueled my perception to almost mythical proportions. If familiarity breeds contempt, maybe the unknown fuels the imagination. My memories of sitting on the shore with my grandmother, the salty-breeze on my face, the calming rhythm of the waves in my ears, battled with the terror of being set adrift in deep water.

It was irrational, I knew. My friends loved going to the beach. And then, as I grew older, my friends continued the tradition with their children. Not wanting my own children to be left out, I began selecting a coastal destination for each vacation: Jekyll Island, Hilton Head, Kiawah, Folly Beach, Isle of alms. To my great surprise, I fell in love with the Lowcountry. It had me at the first smell of the pluff mud.

"Celebrate, fiction lovers: The gods of Southern gothic storytelling have inducted a junior member." The 1989 rape of a 15-year-old golden girl profoundly alters her suburban Baton Rouge neighborhood and all those who love her. Read full book review >

"Slaughter (Cop Town, 2014, etc.) is so uncompromising in following her blood trails to the darkest places imaginable that she makes most of her high-wire competition look pallid, formulaic, or just plain fake." Twenty-four years after a traumatic disappearance tore a Georgia family apart, Slaughter's scorching stand-alone picks them up and shreds them all over again. Read full book review >

"Audacious, hilarious, unabashed fiction." The Pinch—for many years in the early 20th century a predominantly Jewish section of Memphis—has found its Whitman and its Faulkner in Stern, who's written a stylistically effusive, verbally extravagant novel. Read full book review >

"An evocative novel that brings to life an intensely realized portrait of the South Carolina Lowcountry and sends its appealing young hero on a journey full of the strangeness of childhood and the difficult choices that come with growing up." A young boy sets out on an almost mythical quest through a vividly imagined American South in this debut novel. Read full book review >

We've spent over 40 years (37 of them as owners of Capitol Book) in a business we love, and now we want to take it easy for a while. We're really looking forward to it. Our only regret is that we won't have an independent bookstore to visit in Montgomery. "Well, that's not our only regret. We'll miss all of you, too. You have meant more to us than you can ever know. We owe nearly everything we have to you, and we'll never forget it.... Thank you for every minute of the past 37 years.

A few tablespoons of fig balsamic vinegar, some pinches of Herbes de Provence, a dash of Angostura bitters: Those might be the most highfalutin ingredients in Sunday Dinner, Bridgette A. Lacy's inspiring new meditation on the merit of meals shared with friends and enjoyed over the course of a restorative afternoon.

What is your formula for creating an engaging independent bookstore? Well, it's all about place. I'm not just a retailer. For me, it's the sense of community and I think that's a part of the formula. The formula, it's not something you can manufacture. It has to come from a place, real and genuine. It's almost like being a writer. You have to have a real and genuine voice. As a retailer, you have to have a genuine voice as well. I think authenticity is really what people respond to.

Preeminent illustrator Barry Moser’s first memoir, We Were Brothers (Algonquin Books), was published earlier this fall. Moser was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His work is represented in the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and other museums around the world. He has illustrated and/or designed over 350 books, including Moby-Dick, Frankenstein, The Divine Comedy, and the King James Bible. His edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland won a National Book Award. He is currently Irwin and Pauline Alper Glass Professor of Art and the printer to the college at Smith College.

1. One Writer’s Beginnings by Eudora Welty

I am sure that this book ranks first place on many lists of favorite Southern memoirs, but simply stated, it ranks with Ben Shahn’s The Shape of Content as one of the most important and instructional books I have ever read.

2. North Toward Home by Willie Morris

Willie and I made similar journeys from the deep South to what he called “the Kingdom of the Yankee” (though his fondness for Manhattan was considerably greater than mine). North Toward Home resonated deeply with me—and warmly. I have found my spiritual home here in Massachusetts among Yankees, and I intend to stay, but I do still yearn for things southern from time to time (friends, food, and manners, mostly).

3. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

This was one of the most intense lessons in what it was like to be black—to be a slave—in the antebellum South. As a white man it made me deeply ashamed. Douglass wrote some of the most vivid visual prose I’ve ever encountered.

4. The Death of Santini by Pat Conroy

To bring the character I came to know through The Great Santini (Bull Meecham) into my life as a real human being (Donald Patrick Conroy) was deeply satisfying and deeply unsettling. I can say the same for the brutal honesty Conroy serves up: both disturbing and refreshing.

5. Hold Still by Sally Mann

Mann’s honesty, like Conroy’s, is brilliantly intense. I was particularly struck by the balance she achieves between the emotional issues of her life, her family, historic issues, anecdotes, her meditations on her philosophies of her work habit, and the technical aspects of her work. Her prose is peppered with splendid turns of phrase. A sampling: “the forgiving scrim of recall,” “the miraculous quotidian,” and “felicitous, gift-giving chance.” The philosophy she teaches her students could be an overview of her book: “photograph what is important, what is closest to you, photograph the great events of your life.” 9780316247764

As a writer, Clay has written articles, poetry, essays, novel adaptations, TV series, feature films, nonfiction books, live theater, book & film reviews, and newspaper articles. He sold his first short story when he was ten for a whopping $15. Since then, his retellings of American children’s classics released through Dalmatian Press have sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone. His films and literary works have been released in over 14 languages. He has written for PBS, NBC, CBS, ABC, and Esquire Magazine, among others. His latest deal was with Sony Pictures for a new nighttime TV drama. He is currently working on several literary projects, including a screenplay based upon Pork Pie Hat by bestselling horror / mystery author Peter Straub. As an editor, he has edited several PBS companion books that accompanied national series and is currently editing a mystery/thriller anthology with new stories from bestselling authors such as Jeffery Deaver, Jefferson Bass, Donald Bain, Heywood Gould, and Robert Dugoni. A voracious reader, he reviews an average of one book per day for Killer Nashville’s Featured Book of the Day series. Because of all his activities, Publishers Weekly named Clay as one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.” (Source: Publishers Weekly, June 10, 2013) Though he has made money from writing his whole life, he has had a double profession as an actor before becoming a producer / director and still retains a certain amount of residual celebrity status from his appearances on such shows as the daytime soap Days of Our Lives and TV specials such as Clue: Movies, Murder, and Mystery with Martin Mull.

Killer Nashville Noir: Cold Blooded

Bestselling authors Jeffery Deaver and Anne Perry join rising stars like Dana Chamblee Carpenter and Paula Gail Benson in a collection that proves Music City is a deadly place to be when your song gets called. Featuring stories by: Donald Bain, Robert Dugoni, Jefferson Bass, Mary Burton, Jonathan Stone, Steven James, Maggie Toussaint, Clay Stafford, Heywood Gould, Jaden Terrell, and more… Every year, some of the biggest names in the thriller world converge in Tennessee for the Killer Nashville conference, an event where stars of the genre rub elbows with their most devoted fans, where the bestsellers of tomorrow pick up tricks of the trade, and where some of the best writers of today swap dark tales of good deals gone bad, rights made wrong, and murder in all shades... This collection of new stories features some of the biggest names in suspense, from bestsellers to ferociously talented newcomers. Grouped around the classic theme of murder, KILLER NASHVILLE NOIR: COLD-BLOODED is a first-class collection and a must-have for fans of the genre.

From Garden & Gun, the magazine that features the best of Southern cooking, dining, cocktails, and customs comes this heirloom-quality guide to the traditions and innovations that define today's Southern food culture, with more than 100 recipes and full-color photography throughout.

From hole-in-the-wall Mississippi fried chicken joints to North Carolina roadside barbeque stands to sophisticated New Orleans Creole restaurants, the South has long been celebrated for its culinary diversity. In The Southerner's Cookbook, the editors of the magazine that is defining a new generation of Southern food culture immerses readers in the places, people, and ingredients that have shaped the South's food traditions.

Feast on twenty-five of Garden & Gun's best chef-sourced recipes from acclaimed Southern chefs as well as seventy-five all-new recipes developed exclusively by the magazine. Enjoy mouthwatering game and meat dishes, main courses, soups and stews, vegetables and sides, pickles and preserves, and desserts, as well as traditional cocktails and party bites that will be the hit of any get-together.

The editors of Garden & Gun offer their own creative twists and updates on tried-and-true classics rabbit-instead-of-chicken and dumplings or Po boys transformed into party canapes. Each recipe in The Southern Cookbook tells a story about the food and its origins, whether it's uniquely regional dishes like sonker Piedmont, North Carolina's take on cobbler or Minorcan chowder, Florida's own version of clam chowder. The Southerner's Cookbook also offers easy-to-follow instructions for traditional Southern food preparations from roasting a whole hog to throwing a low-country boil as well as essays from many of the magazine's notable contributors like Julia Reed and John T. Edge, and Rick Bragg; regional Southern cuisine maps; classic ingredient combinations (Watermelon & Salt, Pork Rinds & Hot Sauce); and a full glossary of Southern cooking terms to help you eat like a true Southerner.

As beautiful as it is practical, The Southerner's Cookbook offers much more than just a collection of recipes it is a true reflection of the South's culinary past, present, and future.

“With the same level of intrigue and attention to detail that drew readers to The Art Forger, The Muralist focuses on the early days of WWII and the dawn of Abstract Expressionism. Shapiro brings to life New York City artists Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock, who are both inspired by the novel’s brave and talented protagonist, Alizee Benoit. As these struggling artists find traction within their trade, Benoit attempts to bring awareness to the plight of European refugees and to defuse anti-Semitic politics in the U.S. through her art. Moving from past to present, readers will cheer for Benoit’s grandniece, Danielle, who is researching her family history to find the truth about Alizee’s mysterious disappearance and shed light on the sacrifices and contributions she made through art. Shapiro delivers another fascinating and compelling story.” —Anderson McKean, Page & Palette, Fairhope, AL

“Every nine years, on the last Saturday in October, an iron gate appears in Slade Alley. It is small and easy to miss, but every nine years someone is looking for it and for the promises and mysteries it offers. Like all ghost stories, the end to this tale is inevitable, but anticipation is an opiate. Who will be trapped next? What form will the deception take? With Slade House, Mitchell adds another layer to a tightly wound fictional universe cast with the characters of his previous works. With each new novel, past, present, and future seep into one another, but the center holds.” —Adie Smith, Lemuria Bookstore, Jackson, MS

Dear Mr. You, by Mary-Louise Parker (Scribner, 9781501107832, $25)

“Parker’s debut memoir is a poetic revelation about being human. The casual wordplay is barefoot and silly at times, but equally substantial and pervasive. Her one-way correspondences about loved ones, ancestors, and strangers are kind, doting, and frank, and the chapters roll out like sentinels from Parker’s life of artistry and her examination of womanhood. She woos the reader with concise language that both charms and offends, but will not back down. I am smitten!” —Jilleen Moore, Square Books, Oxford, MS

Speed Kings: The 1932 Winter Olympics and the Fastest Men in the World,by Andy Bull (Avery, 9781592409099, $26.95) “What a ride! And what unforgettable characters — a Rhodes scholar who boxed and won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics; a high-society playboy; a Hollywood has-been; and the star of them all, who was born with a silver spoon and turned it into gold medals racing anything that went fast. Bull covers the lives of his speed kings from London, Hollywood, St. Moritz, and the Pacific with great depth and breadth, including the development of bobsled racing with all of its real dangers. An excellent read for anyone who loves sports, is interested in history, or simply appreciates well-crafted books.” —Ann Carlson, Waterfront Books, Georgetown, SC

And West Is West: A Novel, by Ron Childress (Algonquin Books, 9781616205232, $26.95)

“Ethan is a young Wall Street quant who writes an algorithm that allows his company to profit from the financial upheaval caused by antiterrorist strikes. Jessica is a young Air Force drone pilot who is discharged because she has discussed a questionable UAV strike in a letter to her father. This book is a powerful wake-up call to understand how fear, greed, and war inform our technological advances. Childress has truly earned his PEN/Bellweather Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction.” —Karen Tallant, Booksellers at Laurelwood, Memphis, TN

Carrying Albert Home: The Somewhat True Story of a Man, His Wife, and Her Alligator, by Homer Hickam (William Morrow, 9780062325891, $25.99)

“This thoroughly delightful story chronicles Hickam’s parents’ road trip from their coal-mining town in West Virginia to Orlando, Florida, to return Elsie Hickam’s pet alligator, Albert, to a home in a more suitable climate. Along the way, the travelers — Homer Sr., Elsie, Albert, and an elusive rooster — encounter famous American authors, movie stars, and minor league baseball teams and become embroiled in union strikes and bank robberies. It’s hard to say what is true and what isn’t, but either way, Carrying Albert Home is a very enjoyable journey!” —Lori-Jo Scott, Island Bookstore, Kitty Hawk, NC

About Lady Banks

Lady Banks' Commonplace Book is a newsletter for people interested in Southern literature, sponsored by booksellers who are members of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) and featuring an overview of the literary news and events found on Authors 'Round the South. Written and edited by the charmingly in-the-know Lady Banks, her ladyship's Commonplace Book is a must read for devotees of Southern literary news and events.

Commonplace books first appeared during the Renaissance, where they were used as a way to deal the information overload of that era. They helped students select and organize tidbits of interest--medical recipes, quotes, letters, poems, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas. Commonplaces were used by readers, writers and students, and each commonplace book was unique to its owner.

The Lady Banks climbing rose (rosa banksaie) is ubiquitous throughout the South. It is one of the first roses to bloom in the spring, with its abundant yellow blossoms weighing down its thornless canes. Lady Banks roses have a sweet fragrance and can be found both in the carefully tended gardens of stately houses and in ditches along country roads.

Follow her ladyship: To submit news or reviews, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.